The family secret
by Lady Neelahn
Summary: One of the girls neglect to mention a family connection.
1. Chapter 1

After yet another unnecessary rude and hateful comment from the a capella commentator, Beca had had enough. She didn't worked her ass of with her girls to be treated like second hand human beings.

"Come on girls, it's time to stand up for ourselves" she said.

The others followed her excitedly. Everyone except for one of them. If this was going to be another one of her captains famous verbal confrontation she dreaded it. It wasn't that she didn't agree with her captain, she just wanted to stay as far away from him as she could.

"Can you stop making this rude comments? It's beginning to get old" Beca asked John.

As usual the commentator ignored her. Instead he looked past her directly at me. I feared for what he was going to say.

"Jessica, do you always let your friends treat your family like that?" he asked me.

Embarrassed I didn't know how to respond. I hoped the floor would vanish under my feet, but of course that didn't happen.

"I'm sorry uncle John" I said quietly before I turned around and ran away.

"Jessica wait!" I could hear my best friend Ashley yelling at me.

But I didn't stop. I didn't wait for her. For the past two year I managed to hide that he was my uncle. Fortunately for me, Smith was a common surname. And none of the girls had made the connection.

All my life I had to endure his crappy comments so I was used to it. During our first ICCAs I had known that he would take any opportunity he could find to discourage me. That's why I never told anyone that he was my uncle.

He didn't really hate women. His hatred was directed towards me specifically. From the day I was born he had hated me. Purely because I was the first female Smith that had been born in sixty years.

I stopped running when I reached our dressing room. I took a deep breath and wiped away my tears.

"Hey are you okay?" I heard my best friend asking me.

"No, I'm not. I'm sorry for keeping this a secret" I said guiltily.

"It's okay. I would keep that a secret too if I had been you" Ashley said as she put her arms around me for a hug.

"Do you think they will kick me out of the Bellas for not telling?" I asked her.

"Of course they won't. You can't help it that your uncle is a dick" Ashley assured me.

"Well I better get changed into my normal outfit in case they do" I said.

When I came out of the shower, the rest of the Bellas looked at me.

"I'm sorry guys for not telling you. Beca, I understand if you want me to leave the Bellas" I said softly.

"Are you crazy dude?" she said.

"Is he really your uncle?" Cynthia Rose asked me.

"He is my father's oldest brother" I said.

"Man, and I thought my family was messed up" Flo said.

"Next time we're going to show your uncle how wrong he is" Chloe said.

Relieved that they weren't angry with me went back to Barden.


	2. Chapter 2

I dreaded to go home after the confrontation with my uncle a few months ago. As much as I loved my family and wanted to go home, I knew he would punish me for what my captain had said. So I did what I did best. Avoiding any confrontation I called I parents to say I would stay at Barden because I needed to catch up on my school work. It was a lame excuse but it was the only way to avoid a new confrontation.

I hadn't expect that my uncle would show up at the Bellas house to yell at me. I happened to be the closest to the door when the bell had rang.

"What kind of poor excuse for a human being are you? You're not even worth to use the name Smith!" he started to yell as soon as I opened the door.

Not able to react I just stood there frozen. With a disgusted look on his face he looked at me waiting for me to react.

Before I could say anything the rest of the girls appeared behind me to back me up.

"What the fuck is your problem?" Ashley asked while she threw her arm protectively around me.

"I'm not here to discuss anything with you. You're just some dumb women who will end up to be staying at home moms living on welfare" he said angrily.

"You on the other hand young lady" he said with an authoritive voice. "Are coming home with me."

He wanted to grab me but before he could touch me Lilly appeared out of nowhere and stood between us.

"I wouldn't touch her if I were you, or I swear to God I will break your nose" Fay Amy said to my surprise.

I hated to be the centre of attention and I didn't want to cause a scene. And I saw that Fat Amy's words had scared my uncle a little. Or maybe it was the sight of Lilly who still stood between us with a pair of knives in her hand.

"Please Fat Amy don't hit him" I said quietly.

"Jess you need to stand up for yourself. It's not normal how he treats you. You didn't do anything wrong" Ashley said to me.

"I think John needs to go. You're not welcome here. And if you don't leave now I call campus security to escort you from our property" Stacie said.

"Fine I'll go. But we're not finished yet Jessica" he said with a threatening voice before he turned around and left.

Relieved and upset at the same time I just headed for my room and collapsed on my bed crying.

Embarrassed about what happened I just lay there crying. Wondering what I had done wrong to deserve to be treated like that. All my life I had been polite to everyone I met. I always had treated everyone equally and with respect. Even my uncle although he treated me like I wasn't worth breathing the same air as he.

I didn't know how long I had lay there but when someone held me, I knew it was Ashley.

"Don't listen to him Jess. You're the most sweet and kind human being I've ever met. He's a dick and you don't deserve to be treated like that" she said.

I didn't know what to say to that. Deep inside I knew she was right but after hearing such awful things my whole life it was hard to believe her.

I didn't say anything and she just hold me until I was calmed down enough to face her. She simply dried my tears and smiled at me.

"Are you ready to come down? The girls want to say something to you" she said.

And then I freaked out. Suddenly I was afraid that they would judge me. Or worse. What if they decided to throw me out of the Bellas because I was such a basket case.

Ashley must've noticed my change because she squeezed my hands.

"Don't worry Jess. They don't blame you for anything. It's not your fault" she said.

The girls all were seated at the kitchen table and I took my own seat, wondering what they wanted to say.

"On behalf of everyone here I just wanted to say that we're proud of you. You are one of the sweetest and kindest person I've ever met in my life" Chloe said.

The rest of the girls agreed with her.

"You're a Bella for life dude and we have your back" Beca added.

"Maybe your family doesn't treat you the way you deserve, but I wanted to let you know that you have a family here that will support you" Emily said.

"If you want me to kick someone's ass, just say the word and I will" Stacie said.

"You are my best friend and I'm proud of you. I love you Jess for who you are. Don't ever change" Ashley said.

I couldn't help but grin. Their words gave me confidence. Maybe my uncle was wrong after all. Maybe they were right and did I deserve to have a life were people treated me like a normal human being.

"Thank you so much guys. I really appreciate it how much you care about me" I said with a big smile.

At that moment I was truly grateful and blessed to have such supportive and loving friends.


	3. Chapter 3

It was one thing when your family didn't stand up for you when you're mistreated only because you're just a girl. But it was another thing when your friends who turned into family did it. It was embarrassing.

That's exactly how I felt. Embarrassed and humiliated. My friends stood up for me when uncle John had came to the Bellas house to cause a scene.

Don't get me wrong. I'm grateful for my friends. And their words of encouragement had touched me deeply. I just wished that those words had come from my family.

I couldn't help it I was born a girl. I loved being a girl. It was just that my family treated me like a second hand human being.

The disappointed looks on my parents face whenever I accomplished something hurt me more than every word that uncle John had ever said to me. But what hurt the most were my fathers words.

"You did a great job. But truth is you're just a girl."

"Why would I be proud of you? One day you'll get married and our last name won't be associated with you."

Those were the things he said to me for as long as I could remember. My mother never went against him when he said things like that. It only made me feel more alone. After I was born my parents decided not to have anymore kids so I didn't have anyone I could share my feelings with.

Despite everything that my father or uncle said to me I didn't hate them. Even if they hated me, they were still my family. And it was just not in my character to hate anyone.

I couldn't even remember that I ever hated anyone in my life. Or got angry. I never yelled at anyone in my life. Somehow I always saw something positive in everyone I ever met.

That was one of the reasons why my friends words hurt me. I knew that they wanted me to stand up for myself but it was something I could never do. I'd rather be hurt myself than ever hurt anyone else with my words or actions.

After this eventful day I lay in my bed. I couldn't sleep and my uncle's words kept going through my head. Maybe he was right. Maybe I wasn't worth the name Smith because I was just a girl.

For every mean thing he and my father had ever said to me, the positive words my friends told me came back. The more I thought about it the more I knew my friends were right.

So I was a girl. That didn't mean that I wasn't worth anything. Chloe was right. Next time I would show my uncle he was wrong. I knew I would never be good enough in his eyes but I would work harder than everyone to show that I wasn't a joke.

One day I would make my entire family proud. One day my uncle would see what I was worth. One day he couldn't deny my existence. One day people would say to him that he must've been proud to have a niece like me.

I didn't know we're those sudden thoughts came from. I just knew that these new feelings boosted my self-esteem. The girls were right. It wasn't normal behaviour that my uncle displayed towards me. I was tired of living in the shadow. Tired to keep my family connections a secret. Tired to be afraid of what my family would think.

It was time to live my own life. I was a Smith and nothing could change that. There was no point in keeping secrets anymore. The a capella community wasn't that big. I didn't have any illusions that this wasn't a secret anymore. By now everyone would know who my uncle was.

I couldn't change the past. I couldn't change who my family was. But I could change how I would react in the future. Without being rude or mean I could stand up for myself. I could show the world that I knew I was worth it to be treated like a human being.

Tomorrow I would start to live again. I felt my eyes become heavy and with these new positive thoughts I fell asleep.


End file.
